A/N: I just edited a few errors. No need to read it again if you already have.
Chapter Two: A Secret Revealed
. . .
Hermione woke up the next morning to the sound of knocking. Her heart jumped in her throat, automatically assuming the worst; McGonagall found out that Draco had posted her bail and wanted her back in jail. She could faintly hear voices and then arguing. It was this that made her get out of bed and hurry down the stairs to see Ginny looking dangerously at Draco.
"Get out of here! Now!"
"No, because you should know what you're getting yourself into! She might try to kill you too!"
Hermione couldn't believe that these words were coming out of Ginny's mouth, although at this point, she wasn't surprised. She hurried in between a frustrated looking Draco and a vicious Ginny. She first turned her attention on Draco and looked at him with soft, pleading eyes.
"I'll deal with this, Draco," she said gently. "It's okay."
He gave one last angry glance at Ginny before he started up the stairs and slammed the bathroom door upstairs. She could feel her hands shaking with rage as she now focused on what she was forced to call her ex friend.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?"
Ginny scoffed and shook her head. "You really are dumber than you look, Hermione. You killed my brother, and the guy I love!"
She looked into Ginny's eyes, hoping that if she stared at her hard enough, Ginny would just blow up. "The guy you love…? He was going to rape you! I can't believe that you would be on their side, after everything! You were with me on our plan to do what I did! You agreed!"
Ginny walked threateningly over to Hermione and shot her a cold, dark look. "It was my brother's fault. He brainwashed Harry and you know damn well that if Ron hadn't said those things to him, then Harry never would've done it! It was all your idea, killing the two of them. Did you honestly think I wouldn't mind if you killed my own goddamn brother? And Harry, Jesus Christ, Hermione! I really did love him…"
"That's such bullshit, Ginny! You never even made a move on him until last year! And then he called it all off. I was there! I saw the fucking look on your face when he was trying to rape you! I know that Ron had a part in it but… come on, Gin. Harry helped in..." Hermione paused and glanced upstairs to make sure that Draco was still taking his shower. "raping me. He was the bastard holding my damn arms up so I couldn't push your fucking brother off of me!"
Ginny came closer to Hermione and with clenched jaws, suddenly slapped Hermione so hard that she felt her head whip to the side. "You fucking cunt. You deserved it," she said icily before she walked out of the door and grabbed a suitcase before throwing it inside the house. "There's your shit!"
Hermione watched the suitcase fly inside and then jumped slightly as the door slammed shut behind Ginny when she was finally gone. She took a deep breath and kneeled beside the suitcase, unzipping it and seeing all her belongings from the castle inside, including her clothes. She zipped it back up and then dragged it up the stairs, feeling her cheek still hot from the blow.
She dropped it in the hallway outside Draco's room and then walked inside the bedroom, hearing the water turn off in the closed bathroom. She had only been gone a few minutes but Ginny's words ran on repeat inside Hermione's head: You deserved it. Maybe she was right. Maybe she did deserve to be raped. Then why was she here, in this room? Why was she waiting for Draco to finish showering?
Hermione bit her lip and sat on the bed, looking down at her hands. Maybe she wanted someone to tell her differently, to hear from someone else that what Ron had done to her was wrong and what she had done to him was right. She knew it was sick, but she needed reassurance.
"I'm sorry, Hermione," Draco said as he came out wearing a towel around his waist, standing in front of her. "I was trying my best to kick her back out."
She just shook her head, trying to tell him that it wasn't his fault. She continued to stare down at her hands, contemplating. "She gave me my things from the school."
Draco reached over and gently ran his fingers over her reddened cheek. "Looks like she gave you that too. What did she say to you?"
Hermione felt her stomach give a lurch as she felt his fingers touch her cheek. "Nothing important, but… I-I want to tell you what happened to me, Draco," she said softly, finally looking up at him.
He seemed to recognize the importance of this situation because he sat down next to her on the bed and focused his attention on her. "Go ahead. I'm listening," he replied, neither of them seeming to care that he was still just in his towel.
She went on to tell him everything; she told him about Ron raping her while Harry held her down. She told Draco about the entire scene in the classroom and told him about how Harry had tried to rape Ginny. Hermione told Draco everything and when she was done, she searched his grey eyes, hoping to find some comfort in them.
Draco exhaled a breath that he seemed to have been holding as she talked and then ran a hand through his damp hair. He was quiet for awhile and he looked back at her, as if he was trying to make sense of it all, or perhaps he was trying to find the right thing to say. It took him a few more minutes, but he finally spoke.
"It's… a good thing you killed them, Hermione. If you hadn't, I would've," Draco spoke in a serious voice.
She looked back down at her hands, feeling nervous. "Don't say that, Draco. I wouldn't have wanted you to be expelled. Better me than you."
Silence again for what felt like ages. "I'm… really sorry that Ron r-raped you. I wish more than anything in the world that I could take it back, what he did."
Hermione shrugged half-heartedly before looking back up at him again. "Thank you. That really means a lot to me, Draco, but… it was my own damn fault. I was stupid, walking alone at night like I did…"
Draco placed both his hands gently on either side of her face and tenderly caressed her skin with his thumbs, simultaneously forcing her to look at his eyes. "Listen to me, Hermione. What happened to you could have happened to any girl who was walking that same corridor at night. Ron just already had it in for you so you were an easy target for him. This was not your fault. This was Ron and Harry's fault. They did this to you."
Hermione could feel tears fill her eyes and she forced her head away so he wouldn't notice them. She got what she wanted, so why was she feeling like this?
"G-Ginny said that I… I deserved it, that I deserved what they did to me…"
Draco took her in his arms and unexpectedly picked Hermione up before he placed her on his lap so he was now holding her against his chest. She wrapped her small arms around his neck gently and breathed him in. An amazing feeling of safety and security filled her up and seemed to surround her in a bubble, making her feel invincible.
"No, you don't. You didn't deserve to be brutally raped or beaten, Hermione. No one does," Draco said, stroking Hermione's hair soothingly. "Don't listen to anything that she tells you. You're stronger than you give yourself credit for. You're stronger than she will ever be, and I'll never tell you differently."
She melted into his strong body, closing her eyes as she nodded against the nape of his neck. Hermione had never been this close to Draco, physically or emotionally, but she felt herself feeling things for him that she hadn't felt before now.
"Thank you so much, Draco. I was… terrified how you would react after I told you. I'm really glad I did though."
He leaned in and kissed her forehead before he brought her face up and searched her eyes with his own conflicted ones now. "You… you never told me what happened after he raped you. I mean, as far as… are you…?" Draco bit his lip, unable to put his question into words that didn't make him sound uncaring or cold.
Hermione instantly knew what he was trying to ask though and she shook her head, kicking herself mentally for forgetting the most important part in the whole situation. "No… Madam Pomfrey did a contraception spell to make sure that I wouldn't be pregnant,"
At this, Draco seemed to relax in relief a bit. Hermione still stayed in his arms before she heard him speak again. "At the school, right after I… I killed Harry and Ron… Madam Pomfrey was the only one on my side, and she tried to talk sense to Professor McGonagall. She tried to tell her about me doing what I did in self defense, but… McGonagall just believed everything that Ginny told her."
Draco placed a hand on her legs and gently thumbed the spot there. "Let's stop talking about Ginny, okay? I'm really grateful that you're not pregnant, but… I don't care about her. I care about you."
Hermione breathed her own sigh of relief and nodded. She searched his face, feeling the need to feel the comfort she wanted to feel some other way. She knew Draco cared about her, and his words comforted her but there was another longing that she wanted to feel from him. She leaned in and started to kiss him softly, wrapping her arms around him tighter and then positioned herself so her legs were on either side of him and she was facing him.
Draco kissed her back for awhile and placed his hands on her hips before he ran one through her hair again, kissing her deeply, but lovingly as well. They continued like this for several minutes before Hermione then took her shirt off, revealing her cream colored bra as she straddled him. No sooner had she taken the shirt off, Draco gently grabbed her hands and looked up at her.
"Are you sure you want to do this so soon after… you were raped? We don't have to do this now. We can wait, Hermione."
She searched his face and bit her lip, feeling slightly embarrassed of her intentions but also not wanting him to get the wrong idea. "D-Draco… I feel something for you and… I really like you. I don't want to have sex because it might mean something more to you than it does me. I want to have sex because…. I trust you, and… I want to forget about all the shit that's happened."
Draco nodded in understanding and he caressed her small stomach with his fingers. "Is there anything particular you want me to do or… be for you?"
Hermione kissed his lips softly and looked at him with chestnut colored eyes. "Can you be gentle?"
Draco nodded again and kissed her temple. "Of course, Hermione. That was going to be a given anyway," he whispered, his breath on her ear.
She started kissing him passionately before he gently laid her down on the bed and planted kisses down her neck and then to her chest, each one as soft as the next. Hermione smiled, running her fingers through his hair as his kisses trailed down to her stomach and his fingers found her sweatpants.
Draco untied the string and delicately pulled them down before taking them off each leg, throwing the sweatpants on the floor before his hands trailed her skin again. She could feel goosebumps rising up as his fingers slipped underneath her panties and then brought it down to her knees and off her legs. She blushed slightly, feeling exposed as her heart pounded against her chest, watching him with interest. He took his towel off and then moved in closer to her, kissing her lips once again. Hermione shivered and then she could feel his hands moving up and down her arms as he smiled down at her.
It was only after he kissed her neck and down her chest again before he positioned himself at her opening. He leaned over her and searched her face before he gently entered her, never taking his eyes off hers.
She gasped slightly and clenched up at first and he stopped moving around in her, patiently waiting for Hermione to get adjusted to him. She inhaled and exhaled quietly before she finally closed her eyes and became comfortable again. Draco took her actions to mean that she was okay again and then started to gently thrust in her, kissing her every chance he got just to feel her skin and make her know that this wasn't just pleasure for him, but her too.
Hermione lifted her hips up and moaned softly, finally feeling the pleasure that she was supposed to feel during sex. Her chest was tight as they thrusted against the other gently but the pressure in her test never lightened up as she looked up at Draco, occasionally meeting his eyes.
"C-Can I be on top…?" Hermione asked, half breathlessly, half hesitantly.
"Yeah, s-sure. No p-problem," Draco spoke, also nearly out of breath with anticipation. He held her close before he moved their bodies in smooth motions so that she was now on top of him, her knees on either side of his waist.
As Hermione looked down at him, the pressure in her chest eased up considerably and she felt much more relaxed now. Draco thrust upwards and she met his soft, gently thrusts for what had to have been at least half an hour before she started to feel a sensation in her suddenly burst. She moaned loudly and closed her eyes, seeing fireworks behind her eyelids as the ecstasy engulfed her body.
Beneath her, she could feel Draco's body shaking with pleasure in unison with her own and she held onto his waist, never wanting this combined connection to end with him. When it did, however, he moved them again so she could lie beside him and then pulled the covers over the both of them. She moved slightly so her head was on top of his chest and he stroked her sweat matted hair that clung to her body.
She lay there, listening to his heart beat rhythmically, amazed that she could ever feel such an explosive feeling. He continued to run his fingers through her hair, seemingly not caring that they were both covered in sweat.
"What was this, Hermione?" Draco suddenly asked after awhile.
She turned over and faced him, resting her head on her hand. "This was… me trusting you. I needed to feel safe and comforted and… you helped me feel those things."
Draco nodded slowly but looked a bit conflicted. "So… this was us having sex, as friends? Not anything more?"
"I care about you, Draco. I do… I just… I don't know. This was amazing… but I wasn't thinking 'I love you' while we did this. We're adults, and… we're allowed to do these kinds of things."
Draco turned over on his side and looked at her questioningly. "Do you feel like… I just used you, like Ron did?"
Hermione shook her head. "No, I don't feel that way at all. For some reason, it helped that you let me be on top and… I didn't feel like you were dominating me or anything," Hermione replied, still seeing the confliction in Draco's stormy eyes. "Do you find me attractive, Draco?"
"Yes, I do… you're beautiful, Hermione…"
She smiled softly and kissed his lips. "I find you attractive to, Draco. That's all it is right now though, is attraction. I want to love you, and…I want to make love to you some day, but for now, until that happens, I think that… it's just going to be us having sex. I know it sounds ridiculous and insane, but… this helps calm me. When we did this, all the anxiety and stress from Ginny and from Ron were just gone. We can be together, but… maybe in a friends with benefits sort of way…?" Hermione suggested hopefully, feeling like she was going crazy by feeling this way.
Draco searched her eyes once again but nodded in understanding this time. "Yeah, okay. That's fine, Hermione. Whatever you need me to be, I'm here for you. I'm not going anywhere."
She smiled gently and kissed his chin. "Thank you." After several moments of silence, she spoke again. "Are we still decorating the tree today?"
Draco placed his hand on Hermione's bare shoulder and then leaned in and kissed her soft, salty skin. "If you're still up for it. I think we should probably shower first though, what do you think?" He smirked playfully.
Hermione chuckled and stood up before reaching out for his hand. "Let's shower together."
Draco took her hand and stood up, leading her into the bathroom and helping her into the shower. The two cleaned each other until they both smelled of vanilla before they got out and dried themselves off. She watched as he got changed into a sweater and a pair of jeans before she walked out into the hallway and brought her suitcase inside the room.
"You get changed, I'm going to start a fire downstairs and bring the tree up from the basement," Draco replied before he kissed her wet hair and then left the room.
"Okay," Hermione said softly, not caring that he probably hadn't even heard her. She opened her suitcase and found her underclothes first and put them on before she pulled on her small jeans and a long sleeved shirt.
She grabbed her wand out from her suitcase and then walked into the bathroom, feeling grateful that no one had gotten a chance yet to snap her wand in half. Hermione waved it and felt her hair dry immediately before falling into place on her shoulders.
She smiled at her reflection, feeling free of Ginny and Ron at last. She was surprised at how well the friends with benefits conversation had gone with Draco, and was also grateful for his understanding. Hermione washed her face to distract her of the thoughts of this whole thing going array. What if after awhile, Draco thought that she was purely using him for sex, and that she didn't feel anything towards him at all? Of course that wasn't the case but what if Draco gets sick and tired of being used to make her feel better? She hoped against hope that everything would turn out alright with their situation, and even if it didn't, Hermione found herself promising that she would somehow make it right. More than she wanted herself to be happy, she also wanted happiness for Draco too.
I'm sorry if this was a relatively short chapter for you guys. It's late. I'll try and make up for it in the next chapter :) Please review!
